Memories
by Avada Lestrange
Summary: When Ron and Hermione's life seems perfect, Ron feels its time for a step forward. A series of flashbacks as Ron gets up his courage to take the next step. I do not own any characters


TICK TICK TICK, the constant rhythm pounded the ginger's ear drums, tickled his very insides, twisted his stomach into knots he didn't even know were possible. The boy drummed his fingers along the table in a nervous fashion, he watched each tick of the clock, the second hand seemed to taunt him as it sped up and slowed down, though in reality it stayed the same pace. The noise of the ticking was soon fused with the soft tread of feet padding down the stairs as a previously bushy haired, girl walked into the kitchen and kissed the ginger boy on the cheek."Hello Ronald" she said happily and did a small twirl as she grabbed a book from the counter and plopped down beside him in a chair. "Hey, Mione" said the boy called Ronald, his face instantly lighting up at the very sound of her feathery voice. He reached over and gave her hand a small squeeze, but rather than having to pull his hand away, he felt her fingers slide between his, as if they were meant to be there. - Ron smiled serenely as they simply sat there, in their new home, their new world, their new kingdom. Hermione would often joke about it being their castle, Ron thought back to when they had first bought the house... The floorboards creaked as her small feet danced across the floor, her eyes closed, arms out, she spun and twirled around the room in utter bliss, she was oblivious to the world around her. Ron watched his girlfriend, she was like something from a dream. How had the bushy haired clumsy nerd turn into such a graceful surreal dream? He sighed softly and took her hand mid turn, spinning her the rest of the way. "M'lady, may I have this dance" he said with a small bow and a wink. "Why of course sir! How lucky art thou to have a dance with such a lovely woman as I?" She said in the most proper tone she could muster, which was quite good. "Erm..." The ginger boy stutter awkwardly, not quite as good as she was. "You're my Princess, Mione...And now this is our castle" he whispered in her ear as he drew her in close. "Weasley is my king..." She whispered back in his, her lips tickling him every so slightly. The two twirled for what seemed like hours, just lost in the others arms. - That day had been nearly 6 month ago, now the house felt like a warm cozy escape from reality, a place where the two of them could live in peace. Ron stroked the back of his girlfriend's hand, he watched a bit of color flood her already rosy cheeks as his lips marked a spot in the center of one. His free hand patted the bulge in his chest pocket, before resting on the table to avoid suspicion. Ron thought back, once again, to their first dinner at the house...The room danced with candle light as it flickered around the room, the scent was fusions of Cinnamon and Vanilla, the food boiled on the stove as Hermione stirred it, gently humming to herself. Suddenly arms snaked around her waist, the captor rested his chin on her shoulder and lay a kiss upon her cheek."Mmm, smells brilliant..." The words were whispered in her ear before a small nip was applied to her earlobe, her captor hugged her closer from behind. "Ron, go sit down and I'll bring it to the table" The girl cooed gently as the boy disappeared and sat down at the kitchen table. The two sat next to each other eating silently, simply enjoying the other's company. The ginger boy began to scarf down his food, as he always did. Most would find it disgusting, but Hermione found it cute. "Ronald, do you ever stop eating?" She teased lightly, before the scene dissolved. Ron brushed a strand away from his love's face and tucked it behind her small delicate ear. Though he would never admit this to anyone but her, he loved watching her read, he loved listening to her going off into rants about something she felt strongly about, he loved hearing the excitement in her voice when she'd mastered a new spell, he loved it all. He remembered when they had each started working, especially that first day of auror training he had... - It was a warm, but brisk morning as the sun peeked through the curtains as if laughing at him for being up so early. He sat in a chair drinking coffee (he never really liked the stuff, but felt older when he drank it. The latter was more important than the former.) and finishing his toast as she descended the stairs, her hair bouncing on her shoulders with each step."Well Ronald, are you ready for your first day?" She asked, she was clearly excited for him, her voice rang out like bells as a smile played at her lips, his favorite lips. "I'm ready physically...but not so much mentally" He mumbled with a sigh as he wrapped his arms around her waist "Cant I just stay hoooome? With my favorite girl?" He half whined, he rested his forehead on hers as he watched her expression change to bare a slightly amused look. "I'd rather stay here than go to work...You're more important" Hermione only had one thing to say to that. "Honestly Ronald, you need to sort out your priorities" ... - Then he was staring back at his reading girlfriend, in his kitchen, on that dark night. Ron stood up abruptly "Miss Hermione Granger. It is time." He said in a very proper and grown up tone. "Ronald, what on earth-" But she was silenced by a finger pressed lightly to her lips as he pulled her from her chair. He then led her down the hall and out to the garden, which was alight with the sound of faint music tinkling in the background. It was as if the night were alive, as if each faint gust of wind was a distant whisper 'I love you' from a lover scorched before the words could pass their lips. The yard was decorated with floating scented candles, all leading to a piece of paper in the middle, like a place made for the sole purpose of melting the hearts of the young, so enthralled in even just the idea of love in itself, topped lightly with the burning heat that swirled deep in the depths of one's heart. Her interest now peaked, Hermione made her way to the paper, unfolded it, and read it. The note read 'Your laugh when you're excited about learning a new spell' "Ron, what is this?" She asked, her voice mixed with confusion as her teeth gently stuck into her bottom lip. "It's the first thing on the list of things I love about you" He replied simply and nodded towards another piece of paper, nearly crumpled by no surprise since after all, that was Ron's style, untidy and a mess though she loved him either way, on the bench. Now in a sort of dizzying trance brought on by Ron's sudden forwardness with sentiment, Hermione glided her way to the bench and perched herself atop it, the note so delicately held between two fingers. With her thumb she gently peeled the piece of paper apart and cast her chestnut eyes down to look at it, as habit may have it her curiosity tended to get the best of her. Scrawled in a sort of devil may care fashion on the piece of parchment read the words 'The way your nose crinkles when you read'. As curiosity may have it, Ron must have known his love fairly well, for that very moment before the note was opened, her nose had wrinkled in that adorable way that made his heart flutter to the oddest of beats. Gently, as if hesitant he may find an evil spirit ready to crumple his last thoughts of ever being with the girl that had at such a young age captured the boy's heart, he looked down to see a smiling girl, her eyes alight with freshly formed tears as her long black lashes attempted to brush them away. The seconds ticked by, the rhythm in his heart once a steady beat of an indian drum, now to a fluttery unpredictable crash course of a rock and roll band that could never even make it past the beat. He ran his hands down his jacket in a quick and desperate attempt to wipe away the nervousness that flowed from his palms at the most inopportune moments such as now. If only the boy could take a look inside the girl's head, as she was doing in a way with his, for then he would see all his worrying was but a silly mistaken worry for the utmost failure in his attempts. For, if he truly could see inside her head he would see how utterly wrapped around his finger she really proved to be, how he made her heart flutter as if in a high speed chase. Hermione looked up at him, her deep brown eyes watching him, of course in his haste and nervousness causing him to look away in well, to put it bluntly, in a quite awkward movement. "Ron...Remember that night when we rescued Harry from the Dursley's? You know, the seven Potters?" She asked quietly, her voice still keeping a delicate ring to it, though it seemed to walk hand in hand with sheer nervousness, the same nervousness that coursed through her veins at moments like this. The ginger hair atop his head fell across his blue eyes as he nodded quickly, almost a bit too vigorously, but that had to be one of the qualities about him that she loved. "Well...During that entire chase all I could think about was whether or not you were okay. I mean...I know I should have been worrying about Harry, but honestly? I could've cared less about him in those few moments of near solitude. I feel really awful about it too..But you were the face that kept, well for lack of a better word, intruding into my mind. I almost got hit by a spell that night...The reason I deflected it was the last thought of not Harry, not my parents, no. You, Ronald. I needed to save myself because I couldn't leave until I knew the truth about well, us." As she spoke a rosy color gingerly crawled upon her cheeks, these very words, this very blush, rendered the boy in front of her speechless. As the words seemed to flow, almost effortlessly from in his opinion, her perfectly formed lips (Which in fact he had often thought to be painted on by angels, before of course realizing how utterly cliche and cheesy he sounded, which the mere thought brought a blush to settle itself upon his own cheeks as well), he found himself falling to one knee, in quite an awkward sort of fashion once again. "Mione..." he began to say, though quickly realizing how informal that sounded. With a quick clear of his throat he began once more "Hermione Granger. I have something to say." he proclaimed with a great flourish of his hand. "What if her eyes were there, they in her head?The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven. Would through the airy region stream so bright. That birds would sing and think it were not , how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek!" he sat there breathing slightly heavily, his chest puffed out in what was meant to be a noble stature. Not to long after however, did his world come crumbling down around him. When referring to the term of having one's world come crumbling down, now that statement could go one of two ways, either their world as they know it be crushed into a fine powder of what it once was, leaving them in a barren state to start anew, or their world as they know it has come to a crashing halt as it falls to ruins around them, leaving their only option that of building it back up. However, there is a third and hidden option, that being that one is merely in the mental state that perceives falsely that this is what has become of them. In this particular case, it is the latter of the three unpleasant options. The laugh that so usually fills his day with brightness now cuts like a knife through his ever so trying heart. His eyes as if forced, looked up at the girl who's lips the laughter came from and were surprised to find her face not twisted in cruel reality, but laughing out of joy and ever so slight amusement, which was not in any way cruel. "Ron that was simply lovely and adorable" she mused quietly as she leaned down and placed a gentle kiss upon her onlookers cheek. Courage can come from the most unlikely of places, from a token given from a fair maiden, from a simple good luck from the one you love, or in this case a simple kiss on the cheek. The moment her lips merely brushed his cheek, it was as if a warmth had engulfed his entire body, and at that very moment the box in his pocket no longer felt heavy, nor did it feel like a fear lurking in the shadows ready to spring. With one final deep breath and a quick fumble of his fingers in his pocket, the box was open and facing her. A look of shocked painted across her face as a gasp seemed to slip from her open lips at the very sight of the ring. With that sudden burst of courage surrounding his very being, the words easily fell from his tongue "Hermione Granger, I love you with all my heart. Which, might I add, is larger than a teaspoon. Would you do the honor of being my wife? Hermione, will you marry me?" his voice was quieter than she had ever heard it, sincerity nearly drowned the words. There was no answer needed, it was as if an unspoken promise was now being fulfilled and the tying of the knot on this deal, was simply Hermione flinging herself into his arms and connecting their lips in the second happiest kiss of their lives.


End file.
